Liquid personal washing cleansers have recently been gaining in popularity. A difficulty with their use is that there is lacking a solid, tangible washing implement, such as a soap bar, which the consumer is accustomed to use, e.g. in the shower. Also, it would be beneficial to improve the lathering of the liquid cleansers.
Campagnoli, U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,744 discloses a diamond-mesh polyethylene sponge obtained by stretching a plurality of tubes, binding all of the tubes together near a common center of all of the stretched tubes and releasing all the tubes from their stretched condition whereby the tubes through their resiliency rebound into a rounded sponge shape. As illustrated in the Campagnoli patent, the diamond mesh sponge has a "frilly" appearance which does not appeal equally to male and female users.
Sanford, U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,135 discloses a cleaning and abrasive scrubber which is made in part of numerous layers of netting mesh polymeric material. An abrasive solid is used which is a coiled product such as may be obtained from shavings of metals such as steel, brass and copper. The solid must be hard enough to give the necessary abrasive action, but flexible enough to be coiled around the center core. The solids may be prepared from a variety of materials which meet this requirement such as metal, wood, plastic and the like. The Sanford scrubbers are said to be useful for a great many applications, including cleaning and scrubbing the various parts of the body.
WO 95/00116 discloses a system for cleaning the skin which comprises a diamond mesh sponge and a liquid cleansing and moisturizing composition, which system is said to have excellent lather.
Lemelson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,751 discloses a combination sponge and scouring device. The implement includes a soft and flexible cellular base section made of any suitable, flexible expanded plastic and scouring elements.
Lemelson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,928 discloses a combination sponge and scour. The device includes a cellular expanded plastic base, an unexpanded material secured to a portion of the surface of the base, and a plurality of scouring elements secured to and supported by the unexpanded plastic material. In one method of manufacture, plastic scouring material may be disposed against the cellular member, while molten, and compressed, whereby at least a portion of the cellular member is embedded in the molten surface layer to become encapsulated when it solidifies.
Wagner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,352 discloses a scouring pad made with a strip of expanded plastic material having one end folded over a stiff plastic contoured member to provide a controlled contour to the pad.
Landsberg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,634,901 discloses a combined cleaning and abrading or scouring utensil. It comprises an absorbent pad having a plurality of crinkled or wavy monofilament plastic elements of angular sharp edged cross section. The scouring elements are functionally secured to the pad as by one or more curved needles.
Barber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,943 discloses a cleaning glove including a glove base having a side to which there is attached a primary layer of a tufted blended yarn and one or more fibrous bristle portions or strips.
Girardot et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,452 discloses a first extended tubular scrim having a diamond mesh pattern used to construct a personal cleaning implement. The first scrim is placed in an oven to heat set the scrim in a pleated and expanded condition. A second piece of tubular scrim is placed inside the pleated and expanded first tubular scrim and the first end of the second piece is inverted over the outside of the pleats and connected to the other end to envelope the pleated and expanded scrim tubing. The implement has a high open area without a dense center core which would inhibit rinsing and drying. If desired, the second piece of scrim may be made of a different scrim material then the first scrim in order to provide the implement with a softer feeling, skin contacting implement surface.
Rasmason, U.S. Pat. No. 4,154,542 is directed to a shower mitt which includes a mesh sheet of nylon net to provide a soap-retaining pocket.
Wideman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,964 is directed to a bulked web composite which comprises a differentially tensioned reticulated web of elastic material banded to at least one gatherable web.
Abraham, U.S. Pat. No. 2,581,779 discloses a scouring pad said to have a greater ease of manipulation.
Winston, U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,031 discloses a composite scouring pad made by folding plastic fibers with metallic filaments into an open batt.
Caul et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,357 is directed to a cleaning pad which is a felt of randomly arranged animal hair, the pad having a stiff scrubbing side in which the individual hair fibers are coated with a thermoset resin and a flexible side free from said resin. An object is to have a scrubbing side and a polishing side.
Stillinger, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,529 is directed to a substantially spherical amusement device formed from a large plurality of floppy elastomeric filaments that radiate in a dense, bushy manner from a central core region. The filaments are said to be sufficiently floppy to collapse on impact. The features of the device are said to promote sure and quick capture of the device during the act of catching. In FIG. 7, the filaments form loops.
Oddz On Products, Inc. of Campbell, California sells a product called "Krinks" which is similar to the device of the Stillinger '529 patent, except that the filaments are curled.
Stillinger, U.S. Pat. No. DES 317,489 is directed to the ornamental design for a throwing toy. The throwing toy appears to be substantially spherical and to be composed of filaments radiating from a central core. It appears to be somewhat similar to that disclosed in Stillinger, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,529, mentioned above.
Paranto, U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,141 is directed to a novelty ball having a multiplicity of extending flexible whisker like protrusions.
Arioli, U.S. Pat. No. 2,817,865 discloses a sponge covered strand washcloth with soap pocket. The strands cross and are interwoven.
Kingman, U.S. Pat. No. 1,991,559 is directed to a detergent abrasive scouring pad. The pad comprises an outer enveloping integument of more or less open mesh metallic abrasive fabric and an inner integument of material normally offering strong resistance to penetration therethrough of liquid and a central mass of soapy detergent material enclosed by the inner integument. The mesh metallic fabric is preferably a tubular knitted fabric produced from a flat or ribbon like metallic strand or wire.
Campbell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,550 is directed to a fibrous soap filled pad which when used as a bathing aid imparts a cleansing and mildly stimulating rubbing action to human skin. A seamless envelope of crimped resilient stretchy synthetic fibers surrounds a core of solid soap or other suitable surfactant material and is held in integral form solely by the interentanglement of the fibers. The fibrous soap filled pad is useful in imparting a cleansing and mildly stimulating rubbing action to human skin during bathing. In an alternative form, a ball of loose fibers can be formed into an integral spherical shape by needling after which melted soap can be injected or impregnated into its interior to form a solid core.
Kingman, U.S. Pat. No. 2,026,638 is directed to a hand held implement for cleaning, scouring and polishing kitchen utensils, metal and other surfaces which require the application of abrasive action to effect best results. The scouring implement includes a foraminous resilient body such as a mass of sponge rubber having imposed upon the major portion of its external surface a metal mesh. The foraminous body may be saturated with a suitable cleansing fluid such as, e.g. soap and water. The mesh is preferably of a knitted formation although other cross sectional shapes of wire or strand may be employed. As the implement is rubbed back and forth over the surface, the edges of the metallic loops of the mesh will exert a strong scraping effect, to loosen and scrape away encrusted and cakes dirt and soil.
Pusch, U.S. Pat. No. 2,654,191 is directed to a pot cleaner comprising a deep pile fabric, preferably composed of terry cloth or Turkish toweling and having uncut pile loops forming the nap thereof. It is said that the terry cloth component base fibers will remain soft, pliable and highly absorptive of water, more especially of soapy water and a detergent solution. The cleaning cloth is designed for heavy duty work in the cleaning of pots, pans and the like.
Stoker, U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,479 is directed to an ornamental device for scouring, washing and drying surfaces, particularly bathroom fixtures such as wash bowls and the like. A long folded strip of nylon net is wound upon itself to form a loose roll which simulates the petals of a flower. A base made of spongy water absorbent material such as sponge rubber supports the flower simulating portion. Nylon net is said to have the property of springiness and is said to be gently abrasive to serve as a brush for cleaning purposes. It is said to resume its original form after having been compressed and deformed in use. The net is said to lack water absorptive properties. The function of absorbing water is achieved by the spongy base. The folded edge of the nylon net is said to function like a brush as it is passed back and forth over the surface being cleaned. Instead of nylon net, other materials having the properties of springiness and non-absorptiveness may be used.
Heyer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,835 is directed to a scouring pad in the shape of a ball comprising a plurality of radial slit regular shaped planar segments of conformable low density non-woven abrasive product fastened together under compression at the center. The use of lofty, fibrous, non-woven abrasive products for scouring pots and pans which are typically open mats formed from randomly disposed crimped staple fibers which are bonded at points where they intersect and contact each other with a binder is described as known. The segments may be interleaved with layers of foam material to provide for specific properties.
Schubert, U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,225 is directed to improved scrub brushes specifically made to contain a bar of soap for use for bathing, cleansing and the like. The invention utilizes an elastic, synthetic, fibrous batt or chemical foam. The batt or open-cell chemical foam is formed into a desirable shape to include an internal cavity or tunnel to contain a bar of soap or other solid cleansing substance. The batt may be made of a woven synthetic material or surrounded by a netting of woven synthetic material. The brush could be made with grooves or cuts in the face for improved scrubbing action.
Pritschau, U.S. Pat. No. 574,449 is directed to a sponge treated with abrasive powder.
Rath, U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,341 is directed to a sponge for medicinal purposes. The sponge is made of fabric cut, preferably gauze fabric cut which is folded to a pouch with an edge framed by a rubber ring and folded inside out.
Hanazono, U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,061 is directed to a bathroom implement and specifically to a body washing implement which is said to be useful when used in combination with a towel or washcloth for washing an area of the body of a bath user that is difficult of access by his hands or by the towel or washcloth. The implement comprises a sponge member having at least one closed loop portion and a covering web wrapping the sponge member therein. The covering web having the sponge wrapped therein is preferably comprised of a woven, non-woven, knitted or braided fabric which is relatively coarsely meshed. The washing implement of the '061 patent may be used as a bath sponge independently of any other washing implement but is said more advantageously to be used in combination with an elongated strip of cloth such as a washing towel.